Special relationship - Michelle Obama writes to congratulate Elizabeth Garrett Anderson pupils on exams

Published: 14 May 2010
by ROISIN GADELRAB

MICHELLE Obama is fast becoming Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School’s most famous pen pal.

It has been over a year since the American First Lady paid a surprise visit to pupils but she’s clearly not forgotten them – as the postman showed when he delivered her latest letter to the school.

After her visit last year, Mrs Obama invited a pupil from every secondary school in the borough to visit her in the White House in February.

And as the pupils were leaving, she pulled aside EGA pupil Nanah Colly and asked her to personally deliver a letter to the school, reminding pupils to take pride in their achievements, and focus on studies.

But that was not the end of the story.

When headteacher Jo Dibb recently went through the school’s mail, she found an unexpected envelope from the White House.

It was another signed letter from Mrs Obama, this time congratulating the students on their exam results. It read: “I recently heard about the 4 per cent improvement on your test scores last year, and I wanted to let you know how excited I was to see the news! Congratulations on all of your hard work. 

“This is a perfect example of what you can achieve when you believe in yourself and work hard.”

What made the letter even more special was the fact that the school hadn’t even told Mrs Obama about their results.

Headteacher Ms Dibb said: “I was very surprised but we’re delighted that she maintains an interest in the school and is still interested in the progress of our students. 

“Her staff tell me [visiting our school] was a very important part of her visit to the UK.”

Ms Dibb said the school had not informed Mrs Obama of their results, adding: “I imagine her staff reported it to her once the league tables came out in January. It [the letter] went in the school newsletter. 

“I think the pupils felt very special.”